No abstract

Two distinct lobes in the C-terminal inhibitory domain in STIM1 determine access of the inhibitor SARAF to the activating SOAR domain to regulate the slow Ca2+-dependent inactivation of Orai1.

Acetylcholine receptor channel gating is a propagated conformational cascade that links changes in structure and function at the transmitter binding sites in the extracellular domain (ECD) with those at a “gate” in the transmembrane domain (TMD). We used Φ-value analysis to probe the relative timing of the gating motions of α-subunit residues located near the ECD–TMD interface. Mutation of four of the seven amino acids in the M2–M3 linker (which connects the pore-lining M2 helix with the M3 helix), including three of the four residues in the core of the linker, changed the diliganded gating equilibrium constant (Keq) by up to 10,000-fold (P272 > I274 > A270 > G275). The average Φ-value for the whole linker was ∼0.64. One interpretation of this result is that the gating motions of the M2–M3 linker are approximately synchronous with those of much of M2 (∼0.64), but occur after those of the transmitter binding site region (∼0.93) and loops 2 and 7 (∼0.77). We also examined mutants of six cys-loop residues (V132, T133, H134, F135, P136, and F137). Mutation of V132, H134, and F135 changed Keq by 2800-, 10-, and 18-fold, respectively, and with an average Φ-value of 0.74, similar to those of other cys-loop residues. Even though V132 and I274 are close, the energetic coupling between I and V mutants of these positions was small (≤0.51 kcal mol−1). The M2–M3 linker appears to be the key moving part that couples gating motions at the base of the ECD with those in TMD. These interactions are distributed along an ∼16-Å border and involve about a dozen residues.

NAADP is a potent second messenger that mobilizes Ca 2؉from acidic organelles such as endosomes and lysosomes. The molecular basis for Ca 2؉ release by NAADP, however, is uncertain. TRP mucolipins (TRPMLs) and two-pore channels (TPCs) are Ca 2؉ -permeable ion channels present within the endolysosomal system. Both have been proposed as targets for NAADP. In the present study, we probed possible physical and functional association of these ion channels. Exogenously expressed TRPML1 showed near complete colocalization with TPC2 and partial colocalization with TPC1. TRPML3 overlap with TPC2 was more modest. TRPML1 and to some extent TRPML3 co-immunoprecipitated with TPC2 but less so with TPC1. Current recording, however, showed that TPC1 and TPC2 did not affect the activity of wild-type TRPML1 or constitutively active TRPML1(V432P). N-terminally truncated TPC2 (TPC2delN), which is targeted to the plasma membrane, also failed to affect TRPML1 and TRPML1 ( ؊/؊ cells. We conclude that although TRPML1 and TPCs are present in the same complex, they function as two independent organellar ion channels and that TPCs, not TRPMLs, are the targets for NAADP. Ca2ϩ plays a major role in the function of intracellular organelles including biosynthesis and membrane trafficking (1, 2). Although the mechanism controlling Ca 2ϩ in the endoplasmic reticulum has been studied extensively, very little is known about Ca 2ϩ homeostasis by other organelles. Furthermore, although accumulating evidence indicates that acidic organelles such as endosomes and lysosomes are dynamic Ca 2ϩ stores, the molecular basis for Ca 2ϩ release from these so-called "acidic Ca 2ϩ stores" (3) is at present defined poorly. By far, the best characterized route for mobilization of acidic Ca 2ϩ stores is through the production of the potent Ca 2ϩ -releasing second messenger, nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAADP) 5 (4). The Ca 2ϩ -mobilizing properties of NAADP were discovered in sea urchin eggs (5), in which NAADP was shown to mobilize Ca 2ϩ not from the endoplasmic reticulum but instead from lysosome-related organelles (6). Its effects have subsequently been extended to a variety of cell types, including pancreatic acinar and ␤ cells, smooth muscle cells, neurons, and breast cancer cells (4). NAADP is produced by several extracellular stimuli in an agonist-specific manner and implicated in a number of physiological responses, including fertilization, glucose sensing, exocytosis, and neuronal growth (4). Deregulated lysosomal Ca 2ϩ signaling may also result in disease (2,7,8). Despite the physiological and potential pathophysiological importance of NAADP signaling, the molecular identity of the NAADP receptor is not entirely clear (9). Recently, members of the transient receptor potential mucolipin (TRPML) (10, 11) and two-pore channel (TPC) (12-16) families, which are all present in the endo/lysosomal system, have been proposed as candidates.TRPMLs form a subfamily of the superfamily of the TRP channels. The founding member is TRPML1, which was ide...